Hello friends and happy Thanksgiving Eve Day!! I’ve been busy since the weekend with preparations, and I’m documenting the journey on Instagram Stories here.

I’m going to keep this short today, because I’ve got pies and sides to get to along with a little last minute food shopping! This Spiced Cranberry Sauce recipe is one I’ve been making for years. An old co-worker gave me the recipe, and described it as the cranberry sauce for people who hate cranberry sauce. At the time, I hated cranberry sauce. I grew up with the canned stuff, and I’m pretty sure I never even once tried it. The look of it alone was enough to scare me off. I was never a very picky eater as child, but for some reason, I would not give canned cranberry sauce a chance! This hatred for cranberry sauce continued on through most of my 20’s until I finally made this recipe. Now, it’s one of my favorite things at the buffet.

Luckily too, the recipe is quite simple. Start by simmering sugar, orange peel, cloves, allspice, cinnamon and black pepper in a healthy amount of red wine. Once the mixture reduces a bit and the spices have had some time to release their flavor, the wine syrup is strained. A bag of fresh cranberries is then simmered in the rich syrup until they burst and soften. And that’s it! You’ve got homemade cranberry sauce. It’s sweet. It’s spiced. It’s tangy. And it’s an absolute dream on slices of gravied turkey. I like to make this sauce at least a day in advance to let the flavors marry even more in the fridge. Continue reading for the cranberry sauce recipe plus my Thanksgiving 2016 menu!!

You guys!! Last night we got to see Ina Garten LIVE here in San Diego. If you didn’t already know, Ina is one of my favorite food personalities, and I’ve learned so much from watching her over the years.

The format of the live appearance was an interview followed up by audience Q&A. Ina told many stories about her history with Jeffrey and how she built up her business into a cookbook empire. I just love that she’s confident, but still sweet and humble. I’m sure she could be 100% diva given all of the success she’s had, and how rich she is, but she keeps it real. Last night I got this sense that I was hanging out with an old friend. She was fun. She was casual. She made me smile. And I think that’s why Ina is so successful! Her recipes are delicious and refined, but still very approachable. I can only hope to do the same here on Kitchen Konfidence!

Speaking of Ina’s recipes, these Smoked Salmon Deviled Eggs are an adaptation of the ones found in her cookbook How Easy Is that?. Hard-boiled egg yolks are mixed with mayo, sour cream, cream cheese, chives, chopped smoked salmon and fresh lemon juice, then spooned back into halved egg whites. If you were to stop there, and just eat as is, these deviled eggs would be amazing. Addicting really. But I decided to take things over the top with the addition of Everything Bagel-Spiced Breadcrumbs. To make them, you simple sizzle fresh breadcrumbs in olive oil until golden, then toss with a homemade spice mix that conjures the flavor of an everything bagel. These crunchy crumbs add a nice contrasting texture while giving you the feel like you’re having a bagel with smoked salmon and cream cheese all in one delicious bite. Continue reading for the recipe.

Hello friends!! How’s everyone doing right now? I know last night’s election news is unsettling for many (me included), but we have to move forward. We have to move on. So today I’ve got a new stuffing recipe to share along with just a few thoughts on America, politics and the future.

First, let’s talk stuffing. Normally for Thanksgiving, I like to make this Italian Kale and Sausage Stuffing. It’s SO delicious, but from time-to-time, I do like to switch things up. Here, I’ve taken a golden batch of buttery cornbread, crumbed it and baked it up with onion, celery, garlic, pecans, parsley, butter, chicken stock and bold Mexican chorizo. The flavor combination of corn and chorizo is sweet, savory and delicious while the parsley adds pops of green freshness. This stuffing is definitely not traditional, but it can be a tasty and unexpected addition to any Thanksgiving dinner. Also, the leftovers are incredible the next day topped with a fried egg! Continue reading for the recipe plus some personal thoughts on the election.

A clattering clique of medium-sized pasta shells shacked up with an autumnal fruit and cheese board, and shortly after, this mac and cheese recipe was born.

The cheese sauce here is made by swirling rich and creamy Brie and nutty Gruyère into a white sauce infused with onion, paprika, cayenne, nutmeg and allspice. Cooked shells join the mix along with smoky bacon and tart green apple. The mac and cheese is finished with a scattering of toasted walnuts, chopped apple and grated Parmesan cheese. Each bite is wonderfully rich with fun pops of flavor from all the mix-ins. And seriously, Brie needs to be in more mac and cheese recipes. It melts up like a dream and adds some really tasty depth of flavor. This Walnut-Crusted Mac and Cheese recipe would be perfect for a weeknight meal (you can prep everything up to 1 day in advance) paired with a light side salad or as a unique, new side dish for Thanksgiving. Continue reading for the recipe.

Preparations this year began on Sunday with a day of grocery shopping (after a day of work!). Monday and Tuesday were for smaller projects like flavor bases (stock, pumpkin puree, caramelized shallots, cocktail syrup), appetizers (mixed nuts, chutney, soup), and some desserts (pie crust, granita). Today is dedicated to bigger projects like sides and pies. This format allows me to have a relatively stress-free Thanksgiving Day with a task list of just three things best prepared last minute: sweet potatoes, deviled eggs and sautéed mushrooms. I’ve been hosting Thanksgiving dinner for many, many years now, so I’ve really got the method down. If you’re cooking Thanksgiving for the first or second time, it may seem stressful, but just stick with it, and you’ll get better each year.

My first Thanksgiving was a DISASTER!!! I remember the moment when all the guests started arriving. My dinner was half-prepared, and I was in the middle of an incredibly tedious task: browning pear slices in butter. Both sides. In an even layer. In batches. The worst. The soup that they eventually got blended up in was fantastic, but I remember being so frustrated with the task, because I had 10 other things to tend to. I finished everything up, leaving the kitchen looking like a tornado had just ripped through. Piles and piles and piles of dirty pots, pans and dishes lined the countertops. With the exception of the bone-dry turkey, the dinner turned out all right. In the end, Thanksgiving is about coming together with loved ones to enjoy a good meal together in the spirit of appreciation and thankfulness. Just keep that in mind as you’re preparing your dinner, and improve a little bit each year.

Similar to previous years, I’ve been compiling all of my Thanksgiving updates using the #KKTDay2015 hashtag (KKTDay is short for Kitchen Konfidence Thanksgiving). You can follow along on Instagram or check out live hashtag updates below (plus my full Thanksgiving menu!).

The act of eating Thanksgiving leftovers can be just as enjoyable as the original meal, because tradition and sensibility no longer apply. Turkey can be reimagined into chili, salad or tacos. Mashed potatoes transformed into waffles, shepherd’s pie or crispy pancakes. Cranberry sauce used as a sandwich spread, ice cream topping or cocktail mix-in. With leftovers, creativity and ingenuity rule.

These Stuffing Baked Eggs are a simple way to take leftover stuffing to the next level. The recipe starts with a series of bowls filled with leftover stuffing. The stuffing is cooked until golden and crispy around the edges, then whole eggs are cracked into each bowl, and sprinkled with Parmesan cheese, salt and pepper. After a final trip to the oven, the Stuffing Baked Eggs emerge with opaque whites and wobbly yolks. Finished with chopped, fresh parsley, the eggs lend a wonderful richness to the savory stuffing below. So tasty and comforting! Continue reading for the recipe.

I’m closing out the list with this Bourbon Pumpkin Pie with Pecan Crumble. Pumpkin pie has never quite been #1 for me. It’s not that I don’t like pumpkin pie. I really do. But I always find myself wanting to cook and eat other pies first (coconut custard, pecan or crack pies for example). This year, I decided to test and develop a pumpkin pie recipe that could really spark some excitement. Here’s what I came up with.

The base of this recipe is my super flaky, super buttery pie crust. I just love an all-butter pie crust, so all my pies start this way. Rich and fragrant, the pie filling is a silky mix of pumpkin puree, eggs, heavy cream, bourbon, ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg and clove. The bourbon adds some really nice depth of flavor that just works with the pumpkin and spices. A final pecan crumble is sprinkled over top, then baked until golden and crunchy. You guys. The finished pie is SO tasty, and I am confident it can easily stand out on any Thanksgiving dessert table. Continue reading for the recipe.

I’ve got some fun things to share with you all today, including a tasty biscuit recipe, details on a new cookbook, AND a cookbook giveaway. Let’s dig in.

Russell van Kraayenburg of Chasing Delicious recently released a new cookbook called Making Dough: Recipes and Ratios for Perfect Pastries, and it’s suuuuper interesting. The book features a number of dough ratios like pie dough, puff pastry and biscuit dough along with recipes that utilize each ratio. To better understand ratios and the relationship between ingredients, Russell explains:

“Doughs comprise up to five primary ingredients: flour, fat, eggs, liquid and sugar or other sweetener. Not every dough includes all five… The relationship between the amounts of these ingredients (ratios) is what define each dough recipe and distinguish one dough from another.”

For example, if you use 8 ounces of flour, 7 ounces of fat and 2 ounces of liquid, you’ve got pie crust. If you use 8 ounces of flour, 3 ounces of fat and 5 ounces of liquid, you’ve got biscuit dough. Same ingredients, but different ratios! This is just a simple explanation, so if you want to get more into it, I would recommend checking out Russell’s book.

I find the ratio cooking method interesting, because all you have to do is memorize the ratio, and then you can make 100’s of variations. Let’s think about biscuits for a moment. Start with 8 ounces of flour, 3 ounces of butter, 5 ounces of milk, baking powder for lift, and salt for flavor. From there, you can let your imagination run wild. Try adding fresh herbs like rosemary, thyme, oregano, parsley or basil. Or cheeses like cheddar, manchego, gouda, and mozzarella. Cooked crumbled bacon, prosciutto, ham or chicken skin would be fantastic. Along with hard spices like caraway, fennel, or coriander. Mix and match add-ins any way you like! You can also play around with the flour, fat and liquid components. The biscuits could be made partially with whole wheat or rye flour. Use coconut oil instead of butter. Unsweetened almond milk instead of cow’s milk. The options are seemingly limitless. Continue reading for my biscuit recipe plus a cookbook giveaway!

Thanksgiving is just three weeks away. Now would be a good time to start thinking about menu options.

Like these Falafel-Spiced Deviled Eggs! Traditionally a Middle Eastern food, falafel is a deep-fried ball made of ground chickpeas and flavorings like onion, garlic, herbs and spices. They’re crunchy on the outside and tender on the inside. Here, I’ve taken some of these elements and applied them to one of my favorite appetizers, deviled eggs. The yolk mixture is prepared simply with hummus and fresh lemon juice. The eggs are then topped with golden bread crumbs, aromatic falafel spice, and a scattering of torn mint and parsley. Each deviled egg is just bursting with falafel flavor, and the crunch of the breadcrumbs resembles the crisp, outer shell of a deep-fried falafel. This appetizer is truly a fun and tasty experience.

Each year, I like to serve an unexpected appetizer along with more traditional offerings. Last year it was my Miso Deviled Eggs, and this year, I’ll be serving these Falafel-Spiced Deviled Eggs. It’s the risky menu item that gets people excited and talking. It’s also the thing they usually remember the most once Thanksgiving is over. Continue reading for the recipe.

I’ve been making a version of this Italian Kale and Sausage Stuffing recipe each Thanksgiving for the past five years. It’s a staple. Everyone loves it. Stuffing is actually my favorite Thanksgiving side dish. I mean what’s there not to love about a savory bread casserole studded with vegetables? Crispy on top and tender below. It’s heaven!

Over the years, I’ve tried many other stuffing recipes, and all were good, but somehow, I always come back to this one. It’s just so darn good. Milk-soaked pieces of airy ciabatta are tossed with a savory mixture of cooked Italian sausage, onion, celery, garlic, parsley and Tuscan kale. Parmesan cheese, basil, sage and rosemary are folded into the mixture, and then the entire casserole is baked until gloriously golden brown. With each bite, you’ll get hits of rich sausage, bitter kale, fresh herbs and salty Parmesan. For Thanksgiving this year, you must make this stuffing. Continue reading for the recipe